doughnut hole

By Nicole Duritz The dog days of August are the most likely time for Medicare Part D participants to fall into the “doughnut hole” and see their prescription costs rise. With AARP resources, you can see if you’re at risk of falling in, and find options for lowering your drug costs. The Doughnut Hole Each year, 19 percent of Medicare Part D beneficiaries fall into the doughnut hole. Once the amount of money you and your insurance company pay for …

Medicare‘s prescription drug benefit saves taxpayers billions of dollars by dramatically reducing hospital admissions, a new study shows. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Illinois at Chicago estimated the total savings at $1.5 billion a year – about 2.2 percent of the total $67.7 billion cost of Medicare Part D in 2011. “Medicare Part D requires a substantial investment from the federal government, and the million-dollar question has been, ‘Does this investment …

Nearly seven million seniors and people with disabilities on Medicare have saved $9 billion to date on their prescription drugs thanks to the Affordable Care Act, according to new data released today by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. That’s an average savings of about $1,200 per person since the health care law started closing the “doughnut hole.” Over time, the law will eliminate the doughnut hole – the gap in Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage where enrollees …

There’s a lot to understand about the health insurance marketplace that opens on Oct. 1 – not to mention the Affordable Care Act (or “Obamacare”), which created it. But if you’re on Medicare, there’s really nothing to be confused about. Here are key facts to remember: If you’re on Medicare, don’t worry about the marketplace. The new health exchanges, as they’ve also been called, are for people without insurance. Medicare beneficiaries will continue to have Medicare. Unfortunately, there’s a lot …